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YoYoFactory West Coast Tour: Chico and the National YoYo Museum

We rolled into Chico this afternoon, just in time to pick up Gentry from school. If there’s one thing that turns more heads them Gentry’s shoe game, it’s the YoYoFactory van.

Once we got Gentry we headed over to the National YoYo Museum in downtown Chico. The Museum is full of awesome displays that chronicle the timeline of Yo-Yo.

YoYoFactory is honored to have multiple displays in the Museum showing our growth and progression in the past 10 years. The Museum also has many of our players signature models, personally signed for the Museum.

The walls of the Museum are literally covered in history. Old. New. Championship winning. Prototypes. Even quirky promotional yo-yos are on display. And they all tell a story.

The National YoYo Museum also plays host to the National Yoyo Contest. Every year honors are given out at the contest. Ann has received “Female Player of the Year” awards quite a few times.

The man responsible for it all, Bob Malowney. Bob is the godfather of it all. He was instrumental in bringing the yo-yo back into popularity in the 80′s. Creating and curating the National YoYo Museum in the 90′s. And bringing us the modern yo-yo contest through his efforts in the National YoYo League and National YoYo Contest.

What started out as a passion for Bob has grown into the thriving, vibrant yo-yo culture we have today. Yo-Yo has come a long way since Bob started, but without him a lot of what we take for granted today wouldn’t have happened.

As Bob gave us a tour of the Museum you couldn’t help but be in awe of what he has worked to achieve. In the early 90′s the main means of promoting the National YoYo Contest was word of mouth. Every time someone would write for information on Nationals Bob would be sure to send extra fliers back to give out to others who might be interested. Now, almost two decades later, Nationals is one of the most prestigious contest in the world. Bringing in an international audience and competitors from every corner of the country.

A lot of passion and hard work has gone into developing Yo-Yo into what is is today. Bob is a testament to hark work and following your passions.

After the Museum tour, we went out front and set up for the local street festival. Bird in hand, Bob’s store that houses the National YoYo Museum, has a strong club, and many of them came out.

It was perfect weather and a grew crowd. We were honored to be able to work with such an institution and were proud to fly our flag next to Bird in Hand.

The next generation of yo-yo is alive and well in Chico.

Thank you again Bob, Thad, and everyone at Bird in Hand and the National YoYo Museum. We had a great time in Chico!